Electrical connector for an electron tube

ABSTRACT

D R A W I N G A CONNECTOR BLOCK FOR A CATHODE RAY TUBE IS MADE IN DISHED FORM WITH CHANNELS ALONG ITS OUTSIDE. COMPONENTS, SUCH AS RESISTORS, CAN LIE IN THESE CHANNELS CONNECTED TO SOCKETS IN THE BASE OF THE BLOCK INTO WHICH PINS OF THE CATHODE RAY TUBE ARE PLUGGED.

- Feb. 23,1971 lsumm 3,566,333 I ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 110R ELECTRON TUBE'mea Jan. 29; 19s9" 1 s Sheets-Sheet 1 4/ v Inna: f4

JNVENTOR KENNETH JOHN S RTIN Olwghiv F b' 33 1971 JV.STARTINI 3566,338

. ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR AN ELECTRON-TUBE Filed Jan. 29,19 9 3Sheets-Sheet 2 va! a .Z L L I YINVENTOR KENNETH JOHN 5 RT N BY Fgb.23,1971 J. STARTIN 3,566,338

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR AN ELECTRON TUBE .F'iled Jan. 29', 1969 3Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR KENNETH JOHN STARTIN sy m United States PatentUS. Cl. 339-186 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A connector blockfor a cathode ray tube is made in dished form with channels along itsoutside. Components, such as resistors, can lie in these channelsconnected to sockets in the base of the block into which pins of thecathode ray tube are plugged.

This invention relates to electrical connector insulating housings for,electron tubes and in particular to electrical connector insulatinghousings for cathode ray tubes.

In order to minimize the size of electrical connectors for electrontubes, it has previously been proposed, for example in patentapplication Ser. No. 557,796, filed June 15, 1966, to construct anelectrical connector which is suitable for connecting with pins of theelectron tube, or of a terminal member connected to the electron tube,which pins project longitudinally of the tube. In certain apparatususing electron tubes, it is a feature of the circuit design that anelectrical component, such as a resistor or capacitor, be connected to apin of the tube and arranged as near as possible to it to cut downpossible parasitic problems, particularly where high frequency voltagesare used.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connectorinsulating housing having an opening at one end for receiving the end ofan electron tube and at its opposite end a plurality of cavities formedon the outside of the housing for receiving terminals attached toconductors, a side of each cavity having an aperture for admitting a pinof the electron tube into the cavity for engagement with the terminals,each cavity communicating with a channel defined by pairs of ribsextending along the outside of the housing for receiving an electricalcomponent.

Preferably, another object is that the housing is of substantiallyfrusto-conical configuration, the opening being at the larger end of thehousing.

Advantageously, a further object is that the opening is provided with anoutwardly extending peripheral flange, key hole slots being formed inthe flange between pairs of adjacent ribs defining the channels intoeach of which key hole slots a conductor attached to a component can befitted.

An additional object is that the smaller end of the housing may beprovided with a locating slot arranged to cooperate with a locatingtongue on the terminal member of an electron tube to ensure correctorientation of the tube relative to the housing.

If spark protection is provided by virtue of a ground ing tab attachedto the tube or its terminal member, a still further object then is thatthe housing is preferably provided with an aperture between two adjacentpairs of ribs through which the tab can project for connection with agrounding receptacle connector. The cavities may be formed withshoulders for retaining the terminals within the cavities.

Other objects and attainments of the present invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon ice a reading of the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings inwhich there are shown and described illustrative embodiments of theinvention; it is to be understood, however, that these embodiments arenot intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but aregiven for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in theart may fully understand the invention and the principles thereof andthe manner of applying it in practical use so that they may modify it invarious forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of aparticular use.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingpartly diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear plan view of the housing of the connector partly insection on the lines II of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the housing partly in cross section on thelines II-II of FIG. 1, with a terminal and component in position andindicating the position of an electron tube;

FIG. 3 is an elevation of a terminal for use in the housing of FIG. 1;and

FIG. 4 is a side view of a modified connector for accepting a groundingtab.

The housing 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a one-piece molding of hardplastic material of generally frustoconical configuration. The front,larger end of the housing 1 is open and the rear, smaller end has aninturned annular flange 2 formed with eight equally-spaced radialcavities '3. A central aperture 4 in the flange 2 is provided with alocating slot 5 arranged between two adjacent cavities 3. The cavities 3are closed by a wall member 6 on their radially inner ends and they areopen at their outer ends to lead into the ends of channels 7 formed bypairs of parallel ribs 8 extending along the outside of the housing 1.The front open end of the housing 1 terminates in anoutwardly-projecting radial flange 9 provided with key hole slots 10arranged at the ends of the respective channels 7.

Each cavity 3 is closed at its rear end by a wall part 11 having a pairof radial slots 12 formed therein. The front ends of the cavities 3 areeach provided with a central slot 15 bounded by two parallel wall parts16, 17. Each wall part 16, 17 has an internally formed projection orshoulder 18, 19 respectively formed near its end adjacent thecorresponding channel 7 and having a tapered part for guiding a terminal20' into the cavity 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 20 comprises a ferrule 21 for crimpingto a Wire and a receptacle comprising a flat base 22 having two inturnedand converging side walls 23, 24 bent up from its edges. The ends of theside walls 23, 24 are turned outwardly at 25, 26 respectively and eachside wall has a respective forward extension 27, 28. The extensions 27,28 are each formed with an indent 29, the indents being arranged toembrace a pin of the tube fitted between the extensions 27, 28.

Terminals 20 are connected to conductors or components of the apparatusin which they are used prior to assembly within housing 1. Each terminal20 is fitted into a cavity 3 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 with the base 22against the wall part 11 and the outwardly turned edges 25, 26 restingon the Wall parts 16, 17 and latching behind the shoulders 18, 19. Theindents 29 are in alignment with the slot 15.

A cathode ray tube 30 is connected at its base to a terminal member 31having eight contact pins 32 projecting axially from it and arranged ona circle around a central boss 33 of insulating material. In connectingthe connector to the tube and terminal member 31, the front end of thehousing is passed over the rear of the boss 33 and aligned so that theboss 33 passes through the central aperture 4 with a locating tongue(not shown) on the boss engaging in slot 5. The pins 32 are thus 9aligned with the slots and the indents 29 of the terminals in cavities3. As the connector housing is pushed onto the tube, the pins 32 areforced between extensions 27, 28 springing them apart to make goodelectrical wiping contact.

As seen in FIG. 2, one end of a resistor 34 is connected to terminal 20by a short length of conductor 35 to which the ferrule 21 is crimped. Aconductor 36 at the ther end of the resistor 34 is spliced at 37 to aconductor 38 leading to other parts of the apparatus. The resistor 34 iscontained in the channel 7 between the two ribs 8 leading from thecavity 3 and the conductor 38 is anchored to the housing by pressing itinto the key hole slot 10 in the flange 9 at the end of the channel 7.In this way, termial 20, resistor34, conductors 35, 36, 38 and splice 37are properly insulated. This slot 10 not only firmly anchors conductor38 but also assists in retaining the resistor 34 in the channel. Not allthe terminals 20 will necessarily be connected to a component such as aresistor 34 in their respective channels 7 and in these cases theconductor crimped to the ferrule of the terminal can be made to lie inthe channel 7 and be retained in slot 10. In this way, conductors of theconnector can be neatly anchored all around the connector.

By making the connector housing 1 substantially frustoconical so thatthe end of the tube 30 can be passed into it, the housing does not addto the depth of the tube. This feature can be extremely important intelevision receivers where the depth of the receiver is to be kept to aminimum and is determined mainly by the depth of the cathode ray tube.If test probes are to be made to the pins of the tube, this can be donewithout removing the connector and while the tube is operational byinserting the probes into a slot 12 to contact the base 22 of theterminal connected to the appropriate pin. To assist identification, thewall part 11 can be molded with a suitable designation. The distancebetween terminals is sufficient, by virtue of the enclosed nature of thecavities 3, to avoid tracking between terminals.

If the connector is to be used with a tube having a terminal member 31of the type which has a grounding tab provided for spark protectionpurposes, an aperture or slot 39 can be formed in the wall of thehousing, as shown in FIG. 4, so that a tab 40 extending from terminalmember 31 can project outside the housing between pairs of ribs 8. Amating receptacle 41 secured to a ground lead 42 can then easily bemated to the tab 40.

Although in the embodiment just described, the connector housing is aone-piece molding, the housing can comprise a plurality of molded partsconnected together by, for example, screws. As an example, the rear endsof the cavities 3 can be closed by a disc similar to wall part 11, thedisc having radial slots 12 formed therein and holes through whichscrews can be threaded for attaching the disc to the end of the housing.Pillars can be provided between pairs of ribs for receiving the shanksof the screws.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the aforementioned and otherdesirable objects have been achieved; however, it should be emphasizedthat the particular embodiments of the invention, which are shown anddescribed herein, are intended as merely illustrative and not asrestrictive of the invention.

The invention is claimed in accordance with the following:

1. An electrical connector insulating housing comprising one end havingan opening for receiving an end of an electron tube and an opposite endprovided witha plurality of cavities on an outside area of the housingfor receiving terminals attachedto' conductors, aside of each cavityhaving an aperture for admitting a pin of the electron tube into thecavity for engagement with the terminals, each cavity communicating witha channel defined by pairs of ribs extending along the outside area ofthe housing for receiving an electrical component, the housing being ofsubstantially frusto-conical configuration and having a continuouslysloping outer surface, the opening being at a larger end of the housing.

2. An electrical connector insulating housing as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the opening-is provided with an outwardly extending peripheralflange, key hole slots being formed inthe flange between pairs ofadjacentribs defining the channels into each of which key hole slots aconductor attached to a component can be fitted.

3. An. electrical connector insulating housing as claimed in claim 1, inwhich a smaller end of the housing is provided with a locating slotarranged to cooperate with a locating tongue on the terminal member ofan electron tube to ensure correct orientation of the tube relative tothe housing. I

4. An electrical connector insulating housing as claimed in claim 1, inwhich each cavity is formed with a pair of shoulders for retaining theterminals within the cavities.

5. An electrical connector insulating housing as claimed in claim 1, inwhich an aperture is provided in the housing between two adjacent pairsof ribs through which a tab on the electron tube can project forconnection with a grounding receptacle connector.

6. An electrical connector insulating housing for an electron tubecomprising a hollow shell open at One end for receiving the end of theelectron tube and having a wall member at the opposite end, a first pairof ribs formed externally on a side surface of the shell and extendingforwardly towards the open end, a second pair of ribs formed externallyof the wall member, the second pair of ribs defining with the wallmember a cavity for receiving a terminal attached to a conductor, thecavity communicating with an elongate channel defined by the first pairof ribs, a through aperture in the wall member for permitting a pin ofthe electron tube to pass from the interior of the shell through thewall member into the cavity for electrical contact with the terminalwhen the References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,639,310 8/19 27Richardson 17460 2,774,949 12/1956 Cardani et a1. 339-128 3,227,910l/1966 Pittman 3133l8 FOREIGN PATENTS 905,976 9/1962 Great Britain339-493 OTHER REFERENCES Electro-Technology, Struthers-Dunn, June 1964,p. 169.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner L. r. STAAB, Assistant Examiner vus. c1. X.R. 33%14, 193

